In many sports, such as soccer, indoor soccer, hockey, ball hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse, and the like, projectiles are kicked, shot, flung, and otherwise propelled, at two opposed goals, with each goal being guarded by a goal keeper. Often, a considerable amount of the play of the game takes place around the two goals, with significant numbers of players, in addition to the goal keeper, frequently being quite close to the goal, or even in contact with the goal. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for a player to collide with a goal, thus potentially injuring himself or herself. Indeed, many injuries occur as a result of collisions with a goal, in the above mentioned sports.
While it would be quite beneficial to have sports goals that are designed to not injure a player who has collided with the goal, such sports goals may be inappropriate from other standpoints. A sports goal must be robust enough to withstand the impact of a person colliding therewith so that the goal structure does not break. Further, the sports goal must be robust enough to withstand the impact of projectiles, such as soccer balls, field hockey balls, lacrosse balls, hockey pucks, and so on, which might be travelling at speeds well in excess of one hundred kilometers per hour, in some instances. Typically, soccer goals must withstand the greatest impact of any sports goal. Even though soccer balls typically do not travel as fast as hockey pucks or lacrosse balls might, soccer balls are several times heavier, and therefore have a considerable amount of kinetic energy. Accordingly, soccer goals, even many portable soccer goals, which are commonly used for practice, are typically quite robust and heavy, which leads to potential injuries.
Moreover, another problem with portable soccer goals is that in addition to being robust enough to withstand the impact of soccer balls, they also may be quite large, up to nearly four meters by two meters, and are therefore quite heavy. Many portable soccer goals weigh an excess of fifty pounds, or even more, and perhaps over one hundred pounds. In order to help minimize the weight of such soccer goals, it is common to make the feet and other frame portions that extend rearwardly of the goal posts and cross-bar, as lightweight as reasonably possible. The goal posts and cross-bar, however, are quite substantial and quite heavy in order to have overall structural rigidity and to withstand the impact of players and also objects such as soccer balls, hockey pucks, and the like. Accordingly, these nets tend to be unstable and can easily tip forwardly in a wind or if a player tries to hang from the cross-bar. Since these nets are quite heavy, such tipping forward is quite dangerous. Many severe injuries have been caused by large portable sports goals tipping over on players; and several deaths have also occurred in the last few years.
Various attempts have been made to produce safe, lightweight, portable soccer goals. Typically, such portable soccer goals, and other portable sports goals, are made from plastic or lightweight metal tubing and have two goal posts adjoined by a cross-bar, and two feet extending rearwardly one from each goal post and adjoined by a rear cross-member, all forming a ridged unyielding structure. Without exception, safe, lightweight prior art portable soccer goals are not sufficiently robust, and have been found to break after a relatively brief period of use, due to the substantial impact of soccer balls.
Prior art portable sports goals, as described above, are generally considered unacceptable, and accordingly it is common to use rubber or plastic pylons in place of a goal. Such use of pylons is undesirable as the height of the goal is undefined, and the width of the goal is not predetermined and may easily be altered. Further, the goal keeper does not gain the experience of actually seeing and feeling where the goal posts and cross-bar are during play.
It is an object of the present invention to produce a sports goal that is safe for use and can withstand the impact of projectiles and players, yet is safe and lightweight.